Safety gate



July 7, 1925. 1,545,053

' J. M. KELLY SAFETY' GATE i u l" Filed June 2,5. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l k- N fi-lf x E A @i Q H5 I. I l J ,f A EQ l Il' Q Il l N H l' J Il Il n Il v ,1: Il \\5 H Il mi A1A, 5237,: N 'I l l [I :f :l L l I W ,l v- N ,I Il f 'r H ,In I I I m i July 7, lV 925.

J. M. KELLY SAFETY GATE Patented July 7, 1925.

UNITE STES JOHN M. KELLY, 0F MANITOWOC, WISCONSIN.

SAFETY GATE.

Application led June 23, 1923. Serial No. 647,371.

To @ZZ 207mm, if may concern:

.Be it known that l, Joan M. Enma', a citizen of the United States, and resident of Manitowoc, in the county of h/.lanitowoc and State of lVisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Gates; and l do hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to safety gates.

With safety gates as heretofore constructed.7 diiii-culty has been encountered'in providing a gate which will actually stop vehicles without damaging the vehicle or the gate, and yet provide a safety gate which will be light enough to be easily operated with a reasonable expenditure of power.

This invention is designed to overcome the above-noted defects, and objects of the invention are therefore to provide a exible gate of strong and light construction.v so formed that it will positively check vehicles which have been inadvertently driven into the gate without damage to the gate or to the vehicle, and to provide such a type of gate so constructed that it may be loperated with a minimum expenditure of power.

Further objects are to provide a gate which may be employed to temporarily close streets along which electric cars normally pass, to provide simple means whereby the trolley wires may be temporarily severed,

kand to provide means for. raising the gate when not in use above such trolley wires.

Furtherobjects are to provide a gate in which the bracing of the parts is secured by the stationary portions of the gate, in which the movable portion is of extremely light weight, and in which a simple and effective form of housing is provided for the gate when in elevated position.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings. in which- Figure 1 is an elevation of the gate with parts in section and parts broken away to more clearly illustrate the construction.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view through one of the upright standards and the associated parts.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the housing adjacent the motor.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that thek gate comprises a pair of tubular upright standards l and 2, adapted to be' leeatedupon opposite sides of the roadway with their bases 3, firmly set in concrete. The upper ends of these uprights are joined by transverse beams 4, which firmly brace such upper portions and constitute with the uprights a rigid, rectangular structure. leeves 5 and 6 are slidably mounted upon the uprights 1 and 2. re spectively, and loosely fit such uprights. These sleeves are provided with guiding rollers 7, which are journalled therein, ene. gage the uprights and space the sleeves therefrom, constituting, in effect, friction re ducing devices to facilitate the'free sliding of the sleeves upon the uprights. These sleeves are provided with inwardly directed flanges 8, provided with apertures throughV which flexible steel cables 9 are threaded. These cables extend transversely across the roadway from one sleeve to the other` sleeve and constitute a flexible barrier which., even n when inadvertently struck by an automobile, will not damage either the gate structure or the automobile. lf desired. an indicating signal, such as illustrated at i() in 'Figure l, may be clamped to certain of the strands in a position to be conspicuously displayed. In order to further brace the gate, a transverse angle iron 1] is secured to each of the sleeves. as, for instance, by means of brackets 12 and 13, formed upon the sleeves. This angle iron and the flexible cables 9 are elevated and lowered by simultaneously elevating or lowering the sleeves 5 and 6.

The means for elevating the sleeve may comprise a pair of cables 14 for each sleeve,

secured to eyelets l5 formed upon opposite sides of the sleeves so as to prevent tilting or binding of the sleeves. These cables are operated by means of drums 16, over which they pass, such drums being rigidly secured to a pair of parallel shafts 17. These shafts are provided adjacent one end with duplicate gears 18, which, as indicated in Figure 2, are constantly in mesh and thereby secure simultaneous, uniform and reverse rotation of the shafts. The inner portions i9 of the cables are joined, or, in fact, the cables may be formed from a single piece of material, as indicated in Figure 2. These inner portions are attached to the upper end of the cy. lindrical counter-weights 20, mounted within the upright standards, each of the counterweights being designed to roughly balance one half of the weight of the sliding or movable portions of the gate'.- The counterd weights 2O may conveniently be mounted within the tubulaiynprights. In this manner they are concealed'and protected, and a neat and attractive construction results.

Adjacent the upper end of one of the uprights, a supportingbracket 2l isse'cured and carries a relatively small electric motor 22. This iiiotor is provided with a driving` worin 23, which meshes with` a worm wheel 24 rigidly secured upon one Yof the shafts 173 as'indicated in Figures l fand. In

this manner, the shafts are powet-drivenk and are held in locked positionl by the inherent characteristics of the woriirdrive.

In order to` protect the ygate' mechanism against damage from rain and snow. a rectangular housing is ,provided and is couvenieiitly carried by means of the beains (-l. This housing ymay be rounded adjacent its upper end, as indicated in Figure 2, and itY desired may be similarly roundedadjacent itsI outer ends. it is provided with any oli?- set portion 25 adapted to house theniotor,` as indicated in Figure 3. This housiiiginay carry any `desired insignia or advertise-` ment, and ,is preferably equipped with some form ol signal, such as the bell 26, to give a further warningto thetraliic.

It is intended that .the gate shall be lifted above thetrolley wires, suoli as indicated at 27Vkiii Figure l. This is readily secured by attaching the trolley wireto suitableinsulating. supports 28, carried by oppositesides i of the housing 25,.and by providing a short separate portion2 for eachof the trolley wires,.as indicated in .Figure 2. This detacliizd portion in each instance iscairied by insulating` supports 28, secured to the angle ironll. asindicated in Figures l and 2.

It will beseen from this construction that when :the gate is lowered theinovableportions 27 yof -the trolley .wires are carried downwardly with the gate and aredetached from. the ,power circuit. However, when' the gateis in; elevated position,A the` portions27 are 4aligned with the portions27 andthe provided which mayl be readily operated by` power means,4 which will effectively,` stop vehicles without damage either to the veliicle or to the gate, and which is of at-i tractivedesign and of extremely simpl' and sturdy construction.

l claim: A

l. A safety gate comprising a pair `of spaced7 tubular uprights, a pair of elongated sleeves slidably carried by said uprights, a plurality of flexible barriers stretched be- Itween said slee'if'es, counterweights located within said tubular uprights, a -cablefor each end `ot' said gate; connectingl theap;

counterweight, and an electric motor` atively connected to said cables.r

`2. A safety gate coinprisinga pair` of tubular uprights, sleeves slidably mounted upon said uprights,

opera pair of elongated a plurality of flexible barriers` connecting` said sleeves7 a counter-weight in each up`` right, a pair or' cables extending from each countei'weiglit to opposite sides of .the correo spoiidiiigfsleeve, a pair of drums foreach pair'of cables, each iol. said :drums having a gear meshing vwith tlieygearfof the` corre-` sponding' druinof'the pair, a shaftconnecting .said drums In testimony thatv I claim the foregoing'` I have hereunto set my hand at l\Ianitow0c,`

iii the county :of Manitowoc, andv State of Wisconsin JOHN M. KELLY.

ing ka drum of one pair witha drumV ofithe y other pair, and an electric motor for drivf. 

